From Russia with Love (1963)

James Bond willingly falls into an assassination ploy involving a naive Russian beauty in order to retrieve a Soviet encryption device that was stolen by SPECTRE.

Director:

Terence Young

Writers:

Richard Maibaum (screenplay), Johanna Harwood (adaptation)

Stars:

Sean Connery, Robert Shaw, Lotte Lenya

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Connery	...	James Bond
Daniela Bianchi	...	Tatiana Romanova
Pedro Armendáriz	...	Kerim Bey (as Pedro Armendariz)
Lotte Lenya	...	Rosa Klebb
Robert Shaw	...	Grant
Bernard Lee	...	'M'
Eunice Gayson	...	Sylvia Trench
Walter Gotell	...	Morzeny
Francis De Wolff	...	Vavra (as Francis de Wolff)
George Pastell	...	Train Conductor
Nadja Regin	...	Kerim's Girl
Lois Maxwell	...	Miss Moneypenny
Aliza Gur	...	Vida
Martine Beswick	...	Zora
Vladek Sheybal	...	Kronsteen

Storyline

James Bond 007 is on the search for a Russian decoding machine, known as Lektor. Bond needs to find this machine, before the evil SPECTRE organization discovers it first. Whilst being romantically linked with Russian girl, Tatiana Romanova, Bond sneaks his way around Istanbul, whilst each SPECTRE agent tries to pick him off, including the over powering Donald 'Red' Grant and ex-KGB agent Rosa Klebb who knows all the tricks in the books and even possesses an incredible poison tipped shoe!

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Plot Keywords:

butt slap | mauser c96 pistol | mauser pistol | mauser | raki | 

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Taglines:

VIVA James Bond !

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English Russian Turkish Romany

Release Date:

27 May 1964 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bons baisers de Russie

Filming Locations:

"The Canals", Venice, Veneto, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$24,796,765

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$54,100,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Eon Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Until now Eunice Gayson is the only Bond girl that starred in two films playing the same character.

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Goofs

When Kerim starts to paddle the boat in the catacombs there are no rats on the oar, but shortly after there is a closeup shot of the oar being rotated to get the rats off it.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Morzeny: [after Grant kills a look-a-like Bond] Exactly one minute, fifty-two seconds. That's excellent.

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits are projected onto the moving body of a dancer.

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Connections

Referenced in Law & Order: Under the Influence (1998)

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Soundtracks

James Bond Theme
Music by Monty Norman
Arrangement by John Barry

User Reviews

Classic Bond

Following the surprising success of Dr No, it became obvious that Broccoli and Saltzman's next step as producers would be other cinematic adaptation of Ian Fleming's work. Their choice this time was From Russia With Love, a novel once pointed out by US president Kennedy as one of his favorite books.

Trying to capture the unique mood and look of Dr No, the producers brought back almost everyone involved in the first Bond outing ( excepting mediocre composer Monty Norman, whose clumsy tunes were replaced by a magnificent John Barry's score, in his first "official" collaboration in the Bond series). This includes Broccoli's long-standing collaborator Terence Young, screenwriter Richard Maibaum ,and, of course, Connery, that rough Scottsman, initially despised by everybody as a "lorry driver" , who nevertheless delivered an unforgettable performance as James Bond.

All these talents combined to produce what no doubt is one the best Bond films of all time. Contrasting with the over the top story lines which would very soon become synonymous with Bond, From Russia With Love is a gritty and realistic Cold War thriller,filled up with sex violence and pure excitement. Terence Young considers this to be his best Bond film, and the movie proves him right. It is full of stylish shots( the famous close-up of Romanova's lips while Bond says "your mouth is just the right size") and really hot( by the 60's standards) seduction sequences. Even the back projection, a technical device often unfairly criticized , works wonderfully. Although many have criticized the action sequences following Bond's scape from the train, I think they're excellent, adding to the film's sense of danger and excitement. The helicopter chase, in particular, is a moment of brilliant film-making.(And it's even better than the sequence From North By Northwest that inspired it) The shot of Bond and Romanova embracing in the foreground with the helicopter exploding in the background perfectly encapsulates what the entire movie is about:danger, romance, violence.

As for the cast, Connery seems more confident and relaxed this time, but when it comes to his job, he is as ruthless and cold as Fleming originally envisioned the character. Lotte Lenya wonderfully portrays SPECTRE mastermind Rosa Klebb ("..such a disgusting woman..." as Romanova states at one point) . But it is legendary supporting actor Robert Shaw who nearly steals the show as a cold-blooded hit-man with a psychotic strain to him.

All in all, From Russia With Love is definitely a must-see not only for Bond fans, but for every discerning film lover.A true classic.